International

US Intelligence Chief: Decision Time on N. Korea is Near

The chief of U.S. national intelligence says time is running out for the U.S. to act on the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear program.

Director of National Intelligence(DNI) Dan Coats said during a a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday that "the decision time is becoming ever closer" in terms of how the U.S. responds.

Coats also said that in the wake of accelerated missile testing since 2016, North Korea is likely to press ahead with more tests this year, noting the North's foreign minister had said that its leader Kim Jong-un may be considering conducting an atmospheric nuclear test over the Pacific Ocean.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo also told the committee on Tuesday that despite the inter-Korean talks, there was no indication of a strategic change in Kim Jong-un’s desire to remain a nuclear threat to the United States.

Under the circumstances, the Pentagon announced its plan to deploy 82 additional missiles to its seven THAAD antimissile defense batteries around the world by the end of next year, citing the threat from North Korea.